drinking

/ˈdɹɪŋk.ɪŋ/

//ˈdɹɪŋk.ɪŋ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"drinking" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“drinking” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,993. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,993
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An act or session by which drink is consumed, especially alcoholic beverages.

Corpus desk

Index EN-drinking · drinking · English

drinking · rank #1,993 · 13 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,993
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH discussion

Nearest frequency peer: discussion (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “drinking”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “drinking” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

drinking vs driving
75% similar
drinking vs dripping
75% similar
drinking vs dining
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for drinking
PropertyValue
Headworddrinking
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdɹɪŋk.ɪŋ/
Letters8
Frequency rank#1,993
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “drinking”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).drinkinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “discussion” (#1,992), “duty” (#1,994), “communities” (#1,991). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “drinking” is #1,993. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around drinking (IPA /ˈdɹɪŋk.ɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #1,993 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Dominant gloss: "An act or session by which drink is consumed, especially alcoholic beverages.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for drinking, with forms such as "ddrinking", "dirnking", and "drikning". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "driving", "dripping", "dining", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English [Term?]. By surface analysis, drink + -ing. The correct English form is drinking, spelled D-R-I-N-K-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    An act or session by which drink is consumed, especially alcoholic beverages.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how drinking appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Some say drinking is a vice.
  2. For quotations using this term, see Citations:drinking.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English [Term?]. By surface analysis, drink + -ing.

This word in other languages

escabio(Español)boire(Français)Trinken(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddrinking
  • dirnking
  • drikning
  • drinikng
  • drinkign
  • drinkingg
  • drinkinng
  • drinkking
  • drinknig
  • drinnking
  • drniking
  • drrinking
  • rdinking

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of drinking - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ddrinking1dirnking2drikning2drinikng2drinkign2drinkingg1drinkinng1drinkking1
Edit distance from "drinking"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "drinking"?
"drinking" is spelled D-R-I-N-K-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɹɪŋk.ɪŋ/.
What does "drinking" mean?
As a noun, "drinking" means: An act or session by which drink is consumed, especially alcoholic beverages.
What words are commonly confused with "drinking"?
"drinking" is commonly confused with "driving", "dripping", "dining". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "drinking"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "drinking" is /ˈdɹɪŋk.ɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "drinking"?
Inherited from Middle English [Term?]. By surface analysis, drink + -ing. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "drinking", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

feelings#1,996capacity#1,988governor#1,998bringing#1,987

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

transfer13 variantsspending13 variantsdecisions13 variantsappearance13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list